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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910863">the not-so subtle art of spying on your arch-nemesis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcadelightning/pseuds/arcadelightning'>arcadelightning</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>robot cave series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life, Portal (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cave Johnson Believes In Greek Gods, Feels good man, Post-Cave Cube, Pre-Half-Life: Alyx, Robot Cave Johnson, also their shipname is turtleneck tyrants ok, anyway this is entirely self-indulgent, because once again this is self-indulgent, i just love these gross capitalist bastards, this is eventual cave/breen, wheee my first sequel to smthn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:09:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcadelightning/pseuds/arcadelightning</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cave Johnson has died at the hands of GLaDOS. Or has he? He's been offered a new chance at life by a mysterious man. The catch: he has to spy on his arch-nemesis, Wallace Breen. And it's going to be hard to keep passing info on to the Resistance when he's starting to develop feelings that most certainly aren't utter contempt and loathing for Breen...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>robot cave series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the not-so subtle art of spying on your arch-nemesis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cave Johnson's eyes opened. He was not dead. He had been unplugged, but he still lived. He floated in a black void streaked by blurred white. He brought a hand to where his face should be. It was a face, not a cube. He examined his hand. It was covered in a pale-peachy colored substance that felt like rubber against his sensitive servos. Synth-skin. He was humanoid now. He looked, presumably, like his old self. What on earth was going on? Was this the Fields of Punishment? It certainly didn't look like it. And then, the void bent, and there was a man. Taller than him, with glowing blue eyes and close-cropped black hair. He seemed to be Cave's age, so around his fifties or sixties. Naturally, Cave asked the obvious question.</p>
<p>"Who the fuck are you?"</p>
<p>The man chuckled. He looked like one of those OSHA bastards- although, now that he thought about it, the OSHA folks were probably in the right- with his three-piece suit and his briefcase that probably contained a clipboard. "Who I am is... not im-hh-portant. What I can offer-hh- you is what is, mm, relevant."</p>
<p>"Yeah? And what can you offer? I'm dead, bitch. You can't offer me jackshit." A smirk spread across the bastard's face.</p>
<p>"You are-hh- dead... but what if-hh- I could offer you a nnh-new lease on life? Literally."</p>
<p>Cave crossed his arms. It sounded good, but... "What's the catch? I ain't stupid. I know what kinda deal with the devil is. Gonna take my soul or some shit?" The man chuckled again, sending shivers up Cave's probably-artificial spine.</p>
<p>"No... but I am in need of a, mmm, spy-hh." Cave frowned. This man did know he was a very loud, boisterous person, and couldn't really... be sneaky... right?</p>
<p>Almost as if he had read Cave's mind, the man spoke again. "Spying skills are... not required. I think-hh- you'll find that being yourself will work just fine..." Cave sighed.</p>
<p>"And if I don't accept the deal, I die, right? Y'know what, fine. I accept. Make me a spy, I guess."</p>
<p>"A good choice, Mr. John-nnh-son..." And then his eyes opened again. He was standing in a posh office, with a stunning skyline view. He stood in front of a desk, at which a man sat. All Cave could see of him was his white hair, but something felt wrong, and off. He took a step forward, and the man looked up from his desk. Cave's mechanical heart stopped. He'd know that face anywhere, changed by age though it was.</p>
<p>"Breen." He hissed between gritted teeth, and the man's look of shock solidified. There was a pregnant pause. The tension hung thick and heavy like mist. And then Breen's mouth opened, and he called the word that Cave had dreaded hearing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"GUARDS!"</p>
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